There She Is!: The Next Step Ep 4: The Big Game
by Destroyer9283
Summary: The fourth episode to Season 1 of my spin-off of There She Is by SamBakZa. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

And so the basketball season continued on for Nabi. He never missed a single game after the first game, and he always played his best. Even though they had lost a few games, he was now sitting in the back of the locker room gearing up for the championship game…

Now, normally, he wouldn't be so nervous, because most of the time, It would just be another game. But this wasn't. This was the first championship basketball game that his school had been to for five years. And he knew that now, more than ever, he would have to give it all his best. Now he was gearing up for a long practice session…

He was broken out of his concentration when Yi-Ho came in sporting his #41 jersey,

"You ready, man?"

Nabi looked at him and said "More than I ever have…"

"Oh, by the way, there's someone waiting for you outside the locker room…"

Before he asked, Nabi already knew who it was. He chuckled a little and said "Well then, let's not keep her waiting…"

And sure enough, right when Nabi stepped out the door, Doki came and hugged him really fast that almost knocked him over. But at this point, he was used to it…

"You're gonna do great, you two!" said Doki. A few seconds after, she let go and looked at them both. She too was sporting her own outfit…

They all looked at each other, and Nabi and Yi-Ho made their way to the other players on the team to map out the game. They would go over the plays and practice for about 4 hours before they would start the game. Even though this was only the practice, he was still a little nervous.

"Well, time to show everyone what we're made of…" said Nabi

Yi-Ho and Nabi made their way to one side of the court to practice their basketball, and Doki made her way to the other side to practice the cheer session that they would be doing later on in the game.

Either way, they knew that sooner or later, the big game was getting closer with every second…

And they would have to be prepared no matter what…

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright everyone! Let's go out there, and show them what we're made of!"

All the basketball players cheered and started making their way out to the gymnasium. While he was making his way through, a million thoughts went through Nabi's head. Fear, excitement, and nervousness flowed through his body. This was his moment. This was his chance to show everyone what he was made of…

The double doors opened, and the lights and the cheering filled Nabi. As he ran he saw Grey Rabbit, Hana, Pizza, Il-Ho, and Sam-Ho sitting in the bleachers, along with a thousand other fans. He also spotted Doki with her squad, cheering with the crowd to keep the spirit alive.

But the more he thought about these things, the more nervous he became. But he was also excited about it, which more or less overcame the fear. He huddled up with his team as they discussed their first few plays…

As they were discussing, the announcer was running off the names of all the players of the team. Nabi could hear Doki cheer really loud when the announcer called out his name…

As the announcer called out the names of the other team, Nabi sort of looked over to see the other team. They were a little taller than Nabi, and they looked very confident about the game. Most of them didn't even look like they were nervous.

Nabi was broken out of his daze when he heard Doki scream out his name. He looked at her and smiled. The sound of her voice seemed to calm him down. He got his head back in the game, and listened as Coach B went through the rest of the plays…

Eventually, both teams were done talking, and they prepared for the game. They sat down as the cheerleading squad of the home team did their routine. As Nabi was thinking about the game, he was also focusing on Doki. He saw her doing her leaps and bounds, and felt more clam with every move she made.

But something was different about her. She looked more…beautiful than she had before. He couldn't explain why, but he could've sworn that she looked more beautiful than she ever had…something that made her seem more attractive.

But just when he was in the middle of his thought, the buzzer rang, and the squad made their way back to the side of the court, where they sat down to cheer some more. One last tome, the teams huddled up for the coaches to give some words of encouragement. Eventually, they broke up and the teams made their way to the court…

Nabi set up his place near middle court to take the ball. He was already sweating a little, just from the pressure of the situation. But then he pictured Doki, sitting on the sidelines, cheering him on, and he clamed down.

Then, with the blow of a whistle, the referee threw the ball in the air, and the game had begun…

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

A whistle blew as the referee called a foul on the other team. This was about the third foul that was called for them. Why? Because these players were bigger than most of the players on Nabi's team. Some were even bigger than Nabi…

Some of the players on his team were injured pretty badly. Some of them had a few bruises, and some even had scratches. They already had to call out about 5 players from the team, and it was only the third quarter of the game…

All these thoughts just made Nabi more nervous. Although he had done a great job during the first half, he wondered if he could keep it up. He was getting tired and he didn't know how much longer he would last…

But there as one thing that kept him in the game. Throughout the game, there had been many cheers for him in the bleachers. He knew that they would cheer for him, but he didn't realize how relaxing it could be when you're really stressed out.

The whistle blew again as the third quarter started. Nabi took the ball and ran with it down the court. He made is way past 5 players before making a lay-up and scoring, making the score come to 51-47, with Nabi's team in the lead.

And thus, the third quarter continued. Some of the players who were called out during the first half came back in to support Nabi's team. But unfortunately, as the minutes rolled on, they could tell that the other team was getting stressed out…

Not only that, but they were getting angry too…

And it showed, too, because they would get so angry, they would over compensate and would miss their shots, which of course, made them even angrier. Some of them were also getting really tired. Some looked like they just wanted to quit altogether…

But did they? Of course not. That would've been TOO easy…

So, the third quarter went on, but not in the way the other team expected. After it was finally over, the score came out to 84-57, again, with Nabi's team in the lead…

The whistle blew, and the teams went back to regroup. While they were doing this, Yi-Ho could tell that the other team was tired, and that their coach was getting angry as well. Nabi also noticed this, and he relaxed a little. He knew it wasn't over, but he knew that this time, it may be a little easier…

Maybe…

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

The crowd cheered as the ball went into the hoop for 3 points. Nabi started making his way back over the court as the other team took the ball. There was about 2 minutes left in the game, and the score was 95-93, with Nabi's team in the lead.

But that didn't make Nabi feel any better. Even if they were in the lead, there was still time for the other team to make enough shots to win the game. He was very nervous, along with about everyone on his team.

While thinking about this, Yi-Ho saw his chance and stole the ball. He quickly made his way to the other side of the court. But just when he was going to make the shot, someone came behind him and stole the ball again.

This was turning out to be a really serious game. With only one shot left to tie the game, the other team was determined now more then ever to win his game. Even though Nabi tried, the player with the ball was too fast, and he did a lay-up to tie the game with only 1:15 minutes left…

Yi-Ho took the ball and passed it to Nabi. Beads of sweat were on both their faces. They were both tired and just felt like collapsing right on the spot. But they knew that they had to settle this, and win…

As he ran down the court, someone came along and pushed him on the side and knocked him down. The referee called foul, and this was where Nabi saw his chance. With only 45 seconds left, he made both shots…

And missed both…

The shame of it followed him until there was only 10 seconds left, with the scored tied at 95. Nabi's team just stole the ball, and he was on the far end of the court. For about 2 seconds, he had to decide what to do. Should he pass it or run? But then he decided to make a very fatal decision…

8 seconds left…

Nabi ran with all his might to the half court line…

6 seconds left…

As he came up to the center, he jumped and used all his strength… to make the shot from half-court…

5 seconds left…

As the ball flew through the air, everyone stood up, even the cheerleaders. The gym was completely silent…

3 seconds left…

The ball reached the foul line, looking positive…

2 seconds left…

The ball hit the backboard and bounced on the front and back edges of the rim…

1 second left…

And as the timer reached 0.5 seconds…the ball fell threw the net as the timer buzzed to end the game…

The final score…99-95…

All at once, the gym was filled with cheering. Everyone screamed as the scoreboard read 99-95. When Nabi saw this, he fell to his knees…feeling more relaxed then ever, like a giant weight had just been lifted…

Everyone on Nabi's team came and tackled him to the ground. He got up, and everyone was giving him pats on the back and giving him praise. But he wasn't thinking about that. He was just glad that it was over…

The coach came over and handed him the ball. He also gave him the trophy for everyone to see. He held it high, and everyone cheered for him…

The game was finally over…

==Epilogue==

Nabi packed up his uniform and zipped his bag shut. After some rest, he was back to his old self, and now it was time for him to head home…

As he made his way out of the locker room, the Jjintta came in and congratulated him.

"You're gonna fit right in at school now!" said Sam-Ho

"You really are a true athlete!" said Yi-Ho

"Yeah…you did really good…" said Il-Ho. He looked like he had something on his mind, but Nabi didn't ask.

The Jjintta made their way out while Nabi stayed to think about what he would do next. Now that the basketball season was over, what now? His question was answered as he was tackled to the ground when he got out of the locker room.

"You did such a great job!!" said Doki

He chuckled as he got up. "Thanks…You did really well with the cheering too…" said Nabi.

She smiled and held him as they made their way out of the school to get back home…

But little did Nabi now that in the school, a certain someone was sitting, thinking about a way to break him…

Literally…

To be continued…


End file.
